Beating Hearts Lead Rescuers

TECHNOLOGY originating from the United States that can detect live humans
through rock from a distance has already been used to save the lives of iron ore
miners in the Anhui and Hebei provinces.

The patented technology by US company DKL International uses a passive
electronic sensor that detects the electric field created by a beating human heart. A patented Selective Polarization Filter (SPF) eliminates all but the unique ultra low frequency (ULF), non-uniform human field, so the LifeGuard detects only living
humans.

The LifeGuard can locate and track a standing adult from a distance of 500 metres in the open and at shorter distances through concrete walls, steel bulkheads, brick, earthworks, plastics, heavy foliage, water and other barriers. It can also be used in all types of mines, including coal mines, as it is passive.

Because the LifeGuard requires no underground infrastructure that could be
damaged in a mining disaster and because it can be used from a distance, rescue efforts can begin immediately from outside areas.

The DKL LifeGuard was used last year by the Yangchong iron ore mine in Fanchang County to save the lives of six miners. The instrument was able to indicate to the rescue team the positions of the trapped workers and provide backing for decisions in the rescue. After 110 hours’ work, six trapped miners were successfully rescued.

In a separate incident in December last year a roof fall at a Xinglong County mine, Chengde City, trapped 11 miners. During the rescue the LifeGuard was used to guide the rescuers on the direction of the miners trapped in the laneway and help in their successful rescue.

When using the LifeGuard in an emergency situation, DKL said the operator’s knowledge of his field was critical.

“In mining, for example, a scan might be conducted from above ground. Howard Sidman did this at the Quecreek mine flooding in Pennsylvania in 2002 and scanned the entire area, except where the rescuers were digging to lower a rescue capsule. Obviously, none of the family members wanted to stop the digging so that Howard could scan, so he was able to say ‘I am not getting any detections, so either there are no heartbeats to detect, or the missing men are exactly where you are hoping to find them’. That’s just what happened,” DKL told Australia-China Mining Review.

DKL has tested the technology in US mines with 35 blind field tests in two coal mines and one hard rock mine. The tests found the DKL LifeGuard could reliably detect people at long ranges through coal seams and solid rock.

For more information go to internationalchinaminingreveiw.com.

 

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DKL International, Inc | 501 Church Street, Suite 317, Vienna, VA 22180 | 703.938.6700 | Fax: 703.562.1953 | office@dklabs.com